Ruto’s proposals to amend the constitution designed to entrench democracy

By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga

Worth Noting:

• The proposal to create the Office of the Leader of Opposition is what would draw much of my attention. As we all know, this stood out as one of the key proposals contained in the Building Bridges Initiative [BBI] the run-up to August 9, 2022 polls.
• President Kenyatta and his handshake partner Raila Odinga were on the steering wheel of this process. The duo, however, suffered a devastating setback when a bench of the High Court and that of Appeal Court poured cold water on BBI Bill.
• After hearing all the submissions, our finding is that this process was not anchored in law. You cannot amend the constitution by using unconstitutional and illegal means. So, the process stands suspended until when these illegalities are corrected.

President William Ruto has made a raft of proposals to amend the constitution which was promulgated in 2010. In a letter to Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Ruto is asking the lawmakers to consider his proposals. If enacted, he avers that this will be a key milestone in deepening our democracy and rule of law.

He noted that more than 10 years down the line the house was still dragging its feet in regard to operationalisation of the key Articles. He gave an example of the two-third gender rule.

A few days earlier, the president stated. I would not want to be caught off-guard by being served with a court order compelling me to dissolve parliament and fresh elections conducted.

This was in apparent reference to similar order that had been served to his predecessor Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta by then Chief Justice David Maraga.

The proposal to create the Office of the Leader of Opposition is what would draw much of my attention. As we all know, this stood out as one of the key proposals contained in the Building Bridges Initiative [BBI] the run-up to August 9, 2022 polls.

President Kenyatta and his handshake partner Raila Odinga were on the steering wheel of this process. The duo, however, suffered a devastating setback when a bench of the High Court and that of Appeal Court poured cold water on BBI Bill.

After hearing all the submissions, our finding is that this process was not anchored in law. You cannot amend the constitution by using unconstitutional and illegal means. So, the process stands suspended until when these illegalities are corrected.

I’m sure President Ruto, who was the Deputy President at the time, learnt big lessons and so I would not expect his wish to encounter legal hitches.

I have been listening to Dr Ruto critics. They want Kenyans to believe that parliament cannot create the Office of the Opposition Leader. This power can only be exercised by Kenyans through a referendum.

I disagree. As we speak, the opposition is represented in the house through the minority leader and minority chief whip. Besides, the opposition leads two key house committees of Public Account Committee [PAC] and Public Investment Committee [PIC] and also serves as members of the other committees. Ruto’s proposal is not seeking to overhaul these core structures of parliament.

He just wants to ensure the presidential candidate, who garnered the second highest votes in the general election, is not left out. The 2010 constitution brought new changes, one of them barring those running for president from vying for the MP’s seat. This means this leader and his or her running mate would stay in cold for the next five years. They were not allowed sit in the house and were considered to be strangers. As a result, they were denied a chance to participate in the processes of legislations.

Whenever they wanted something to reach the floor of parliament, they had only one option; to talk with their juniors. Sometimes, the MP who would table the bill or motion will not be able to defend it as you can.

In the meantime, the MPs of the ruling coalition would always take advantage of this to counter such bills if they were designed to contradict the position of the government. The opposition leaders, who have sent you, were not members of this house. So, they cannot speak on behalf of Kenyans. They were busybodies, hecklers and idlers.

This is one of the main reasons that prompted the president to come up with these proposals. As a democrat, he is looking forward to see his competitors being treated with decorum and be allowed to actively participate in legislative process. This is with a view of making decisions that have positive impact on the lives of Kenyans.

I would therefore expect the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition party to support this proposal. And if they fail, then Kenyans would demand to know what was up their sleeves.

By opting not to support the changes that would alter the core functions of parliament, the President demonstrated that he means well for the country. The referendum could have been costly and end up dividing our country.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political commentator based in Nairobi

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